The University of Nevada, Reno has received a $1.2 million federal grant to develop and operate the National Geothermal Institute. The institute will provide research and augment work at the University’s Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy. The institute will serve as a consortium of geothermal schools, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University (NY), Stanford University (CA), the Oregon Institute of Technology, and the University of Utah. The geothermal program is expected to offer a series of eight one-week courses with additional field trips and a project required. Classes may begin as early as the spring semester of 2011.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the winners of its 2010 P3 (People, Prosperity, and the Planet) Awards Competition. The national competition enables college students to research, develop, and design scientific, technical, and policy solutions to sustainability challenges. Paul Anastas, EPA's Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research & Development, increased the number of awards issued to 14 (totaling $1 million) this year because the projects were so impressive. The winners include: Appalachian State University (NC); Clarkson University (NY); Clemson University (SC); Cornell University (NY); Drexel University (PA); Harvard University (MA); Humboldt State University (CA); North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Roger Williams University (RI); Texas A&M University; University of Illinois at Champaign; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Virginia Tech.

University of Western Ontario has announced plans to build a $25 million dollar wind turbine research center. The Wind, Engineering, Energy and Environment (WindEEE) Dome will serve as a wind tunnel, test turbine designs and parts, and study the most efficient way to capture wind energy. The facility will help improve the structural engineering of wind turbines and the design of wind farms. The WindEEE Dome is designed to be 40 meters across and will contain more than 100 fans, each about one meter in diameter. Together, they can create winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology has opened a new solar research center. The Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center is funded by Italian energy company, Eni. The Center, which aims to transform how the world produces and consumes energy, promotes research in advanced solar technologies through projects ranging from new materials to hydrogen production from solar energy.

Montclair State University (NJ) has opened its PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies. Established by a $400,000 three-year grant from the PSEG Foundation, the Institute will conduct sustainability science research, education, public policy development, and outreach. The grant will allow the University to examine issues affecting long-term environmental practices and sustainability issues in New Jersey. The University will also research the management of urban watershed-coastal ecosystems. The program will begin with an international conference on sustainability this fall.

Mount Hood Community College has announced plans to open a new biodiesel training lab. The lab will offer classes to students and members of the community who are interested in making biodiesel at home. The biodiesel lab is part of the College’s plans to create a green training center.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has announced that a team from Stanford University (CA) has been named the top winner of the MIT Clean Energy Prize for their design that will increase the efficiency of solar photovoltaic panels. The team of PhD chemical engineering students developed a carbon nano-based transparent electrode that will increase the efficiency of thin film photovoltaic solar panels by allowing up to 12 percent more sunlight to penetrate the panels. The other four finalists in the competition included a team from MIT which won the Energy Efficiency & Infrastructure Category, the University of Maryland which took first place in the Deployment Category, Georgia Institute of Technology which was the overall winner in the Transportation Category, and a combined MIT/Harvard University (MA) team that won the Clean Non-Renewables category. The competition is free and open to all US graduate and undergraduate students, with the condition that prize funds be used exclusively towards the launch of a new business established in the United States. Each of the finalists was rewarded $15,000, and the winning Stanford team received the $200,000 Grand Prize.

The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville (KY) have each received $2 million for energy research from E.ON, a German power company. UK's donation will support clean coal research, and U of L's funding will go towards engineering and energy-efficiency programs.

Columbia University's (NY) Department of Engineering and IBM have formed a joint initiative to provide technology resources to prepare students for the emerging green economy. The Smarter Cities Skills Initiative will provide Columbia faculty and students access to IBM software either on premise or in the cloud; technical support for green technology courses that show students how to build energy efficient IT infrastructures for smart buildings, smart grids, and smart water systems; and energy efficiency and open standards software development tools on IBM developerWorks. Additionally, Columbia faculty and students can have the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with IBM Research scientists on projects related to the future of smarter cities and sustainability.

Northeastern University (MA) has received a $9.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the impact of exposure to environmental contamination on preterm birth rates and to develop sustainable solutions. Led by Akram Alshawabkeh, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern, the team will explore whether exposure to commonly found environmental contaminants and chemicals, such as phthalates and trichloroethylene, contribute to the high incidence of preterm births in Puerto Rico. They will pursue new sustainable technologies to identify and remove harmful chemicals from contaminated groundwater. Researchers from Northeastern’s College of Engineering and the Bouvé College of Health Sciences will collaborate with the University of Puerto Rico and University of Michigan on this interdisciplinary research project.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded more than $1 million in grants to 14 college teams across the country who participated in the 6th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Winners of the EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) awards developed sustainable projects and ideas that protect the environment, encourage economic growth, and use natural resources more efficiently. The national P3 award competition encourages college students to create sustainable solutions to worldwide environmental problems through technological innovation. Each P3 award winner receives up to $75,000 to further develop a design, implement it in the field, or move it to the marketplace. Winners of this year’s awards are Harvard University (MA), Clemson University (SC), Texas A&M University, Humboldt State University (CA), Appalachian State University (NC), Clarkson University (NY) (two teams), Cornell University (NY), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Williams University (RI), Virginia Tech, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Drexel University (PA). The EPA has posted Science Works Podcasts with its Sustainable Design Competition Winners.

The University of Oregon's Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) was selected as a finalist for the 2010 Sustainable Research Globe Award. SCI represents a re-conceptualization of the research university as catalyst for sustainable community change. The multi-disciplinary, applied learning, and engaged community orientation allows SCI to serve as a model for universities around the world. This model combines scientifically rigorous research and exceptional student instruction and transforms them into a state of practice and knowledge catalyst for helping cities transition to more sustainable practice. While ultimately not accepted as the laureate, SCI was thrilled to be one of the finalists for the internationally recognized award, with competing entries from China, India, the UK, and Sweden.

Bowdoin College (ME) has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to conduct multidisciplinary climate change research in the Gulf of Maine. The grant will fund a team of Bowdoin scientists and their colleagues at Michigan Tech, U.S. Geological Survey, Yale University (CT), and the University of New Brunswick using NASA satellite imagery to assess the flux and processing of dissolved organic carbon and nutrients from three major river systems draining into the Gulf of Maine. The project will incorporate historical data sets to develop a baseline of land use and climate change over the past century, and will include models for predicting how hydrology and carbon cycling is likely to be altered with projected changes in land use and climate change over time.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the 20 collegiate teams selected to compete in the next U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, which will be held on the National Mall in Washington, DC in the Fall 2011. For two weeks, teams of college and university students from across the United States and the world will compete to design, build, and operate the most affordable, attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, the competition will highlight affordable homes that combine energy-efficient construction and appliances with renewable energy systems that are available today. U.S. and Canadian teams include Appalachian State University (NC); the Research Foundation of CUNY (NY); Florida State University, The University of Central Florida, The University of Florida, and The University of South Florida; Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ) and the New School (NY); Massachusetts College of Art and Design and University of Massachusetts at Lowell; Rutgers the State University of New Jersey and New Jersey Institute of Technology; Middlebury College (VT); Florida International University; The Ohio State University; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Old Dominion University (VA) and Hampton University (VA); University of Maryland, College Park; Purdue University (IN); University of Calgary (AB); University of Tennessee; University of Hawaii; and The Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology.

Portland State University (OR) has partnered with Portland General Electric to help the region accommodate electric cars and renewable energy, design environmentally friendly buildings, and foster regional sustainability. The two organizations will work together to locate a network of charging stations for electric cars as part of a $100 million eTec-Nissan North America partnership that establishes charging stations in five states, including 2,000 in Oregon. The MOU also included a $50,000 commitment over two years to create a PGE Foundation Renewable Energy Research lab.

The University of Toledo (OH) has recently established the Institute for Sustainable Engineering Materials. The institute will research ways to make industrial processes and materials more sustainable. They will look into how to increase the amount of waste recycled and to decrease the overall amount of waste used.

Joe Reczek, assistant professor of chemistry at Denison University, has been granted a Cottrell College Science Award from the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement (RCSA). With the $41,000 grant, Reczek and several Denison students will investigate the possibilities of new organic chemistry compounds and their applications for solar cells.

The Image Permanence Institute at Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) has received a $580,174 grant for a major research project dealing with sustainable preservation practices in libraries. Many libraries maintain tightly controlled, energy-intensive environments for their stacks, special collections and exhibition spaces. For budgetary reasons and concerns about global climate change, libraries are searching for ways to responsibly and safely lower energy consumption. This project will investigate a promising method for libraries to achieve significant reductions in energy use without compromising the preservation quality of collection environments through a carefully monitored and risk-managed shutdown of air handling units during unoccupied hours. RIT will partner with libraries at Yale University (CT); University of California, Los Angeles; and Cornell University (NY); as well as the Birmingham Public Library and the New York Public Library.

The Council of Ontario Universities has announced three research chairs in environmental science. The Ontario Research Chair in Renewable Energy Technologies and Health has been awarded to the University of Waterloo and its candidate, Dr. Siva Sivoththaman. The two Ontario Research Chairs in Green Chemistry and Engineering have been awarded to Queen's University and its candidate, Dr. Michael Cunningham, and to Trent University and its candidate, Dr. Suresh Narine. Dr. Sivoththaman will bring focus to multi-disciplinary activities in renewable energy technologies and health, ensuring that health and safety are top priorities in the induction of new technologies. His research program will develop new technical approaches and will provide guidelines in setting standards to ensure health and safety in the manufacturing, use, and end-of-life phases of renewable energy technologies. Dr. Cunningham's research interests are in polymer science, with a focus on replacing environmentally harmful processes that employ organic solvents with more environmentally benign water-based processes that do not use solvents. His research will exploit newly discovered materials that can "switch" their properties and the latest chemistry techniques to control polymer product properties, using manufacturing methods that minimize environmental impact. Dr. Narine will focus on the use of natural oils to develop new high-value, high-performance, and toxic free/neutral chemicals, materials, and polymers.

The University of Arizona has established a new Solar Zone at its Science and Technology Park. The Solar Park will be an interdisciplinary and collaborative hub for researchers and industry to develop and promote renewable energy.

The University of Florida has received $870,000 from NASA to study how to better adapt to climate change. The NASA Land Use Land Cover Change Program grant will fund an interdisciplinary project that will analyze relationships among climate variability, climate change, land use and land cover change. Using remote sensing applications and socio-economic surveys, the project aims to create models that could enhance planning for sustainable resource use and help the people in these areas adapt to climate change. The grant will support graduate students and allow the project to conduct summer fieldwork in Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia.

The University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh has received a $500,000 grant from the federal government and a $232,587 grant from Wisconsin Focus on Energy to build a dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester, which will convert year and food waste into fuel. The renewable energy facility will include heat and power generators, which will produce up to five percent of the campus’s electricity and heating needs. The biodigester needs 6,000 tons of organic biowaste per year to provide a 400 kilowatt output. The majority of the waste will be provided by campus and community sources with the remainder being supplied from other area partners.

The University of California, Berkeley has been awarded $24.5 million to fund a multi-institutional research center that would aim to reduce power consumption by electronics. The five-year grant by the National Science Foundation will be used to establish the Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science, or E3S, one of only five multi-institutional Science and Technology Centers to be established this year. UC Berkeley researchers will team up with colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University (CA), Contra Costa College (CA), Los Angeles Trade Technical College (CA), and the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to dramatically dampen electronics' appetite for power.

Grand Valley State University's Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center and University of Michigan's Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute have partnered to study the potential for offshore wind energy in Lake Michigan. The two institutions recently received $1.34 million in state grants to help pay for the construction of a floating data-collection platform in Lake Michigan.

A team of computer scientists from Rutgers University (NJ), the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Michigan, and the University of Virginia have received a two-year, $1 million research grant from Google to help reduce energy usage in large Internet data centers. The team will explore ways to create low power modes in servers, allowing parts of the computer to be turned off while other parts remain accessible. The goal is to allow less active servers to move their processing loads to other servers and essentially go to sleep. The goal of such redesigns would be to conserve 40 to 50 percent of the power that servers now consume. The team members are all affiliated with UCSB’s Greenscale Center for Energy-Efficient Computing.

Professor Alberto Cerpa of the University of California, Merced has received a $568,202 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a system to track the amount of sunlight collected by solar panels on the ground. This information will make it easier for electricity providers to plan and manage solar generation systems within their electrical grids. The research project will use a network of sensors to collect solar irradiance data at ground levels. The sensors will measure and track cloud cover, aerosol content, and the presence of gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide - all of which can reduce the amount of sunlight a solar cell can collect - in the Earth’s lower atmosphere and stratosphere.

The University of Idaho has received a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to help university forestry researchers solve industry-wide problems. The University will use the funding to establish a research site in the Center for Advanced Forest Systems (CAFS), a program that links university-based forestry research programs in the U.S. By joining CAFS, the university will increase information sharing and optimize research in the areas of silviculture, biometrics, bioenergy, site resource availability, forest genetics, and geospatial analysis of forest productivity.

Banaras Hindu University (India) has established the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development. The role of the institute is to spread information about sustainable development and to conduct research around issues such as pollution, natural resource management, and sustainable agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory and DOE’s Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program announced the selection of five additional states to each receive approximately $60,000 in funding per year for three years for activities supporting Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools project. These awards will provide universities, state institutions, and non-governmental organizations funding and technical support that will be used to develop educational programs to improve understanding of wind technology and its implementation using the Wind for Schools model. The university leads on the selected projects are Appalachian State University (NC), James Madison University (VA), Northern Arizona University, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Alaska.

The India Institute of Technology, Kanpur is building a 500 kW solar plant to research how to reduce the cost of solar power. The scientists at IIT aim to make the cost of solar competitive with conventional resources. The plant is expected to be operational in four years. The plant will provide free power to six neighboring villages.

The University of Tasmania (Australia) has opened a new renewable energy laboratory and solar energy research facility. The research will focus on developing new and better ways to store the energy produced by renewable sources.

Zayed University and Masdar Institute (United Arab Emirates) have partnered to advance research and education on renewable energy. Research will study the scientific and socio-economic implications of large scale renewable energy. The agreement also outlines arrangements for Zayed University to support the Masdar Institute’s "pre-Master’s" program by offering preparatory coursework to help students meet the Institute’s rigorous graduate admissions requirements.

Central Carolina Community College (NC) has received a $30,000 grant from Progress Energy Foundation for its energy efficiency/green building and renewable energy programs. The grant will help pay for two new laboratories and allow students to have more hands on training. The energy efficiency/green building lab will include workstations in solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies, as well as weatherization stations and green building materials demonstrations. The renewable energy lab will allow students to work on photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, creating connections, testing equipment, and monitoring system efficiencies.

Colorado State University, in partnership with Solix Biofuels Inc., has been awarded a $44 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for algae-to-oil research. The grant is part the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts, and the researchers will focus on such issues as reuse of biproducts and feasibility of algae replacing gasoline.

Students and faculty in Rowan University's (NJ) College of Engineering are working with pharmaceutical companies to help green their processes. Through EPA grants totaling over $200,000, the University is expanding its green engineering research to work with the pharmaceuticals to help them reduce waste and become more efficient. Current research focuses on minimizing the impacts of raw materials used in creating the products and reducing pollution.

Stony Brook University and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) has announced that SBU will host the Advanced Energy Center (AEC), which will support efforts to advance innovative energy research, education, and technology deployment with a focus on efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy. The commitment by NYPA includes $500,000 to support the operations of the AEC. Construction of the AEC building is expected to be completed by fall 2010.

The University of Delaware has signed an agreement with the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority to establish the UD Center for Energy and Environmental Policy campus in Daegu, South Korea. The agreement will allow for the development of multilateral relations and an exchange of scientific ideas. Collaborative research in the field will be conducted at the new campus.

The University of Kansas School of Engineering has received a $12.3 million from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Construction Grant Program to build a green technologies research facility. The 34,600-square-foot Measurement, Materials, and Sustainable Environment Center, which will aim for LEED certification, will house research projects on the development of biofuels; remote sensing technologies used to monitor polar ice and glaciers; and development and testing laboratories for commercial avionics, sustainable materials, and advanced research in materials fracture and fatigue. The University must raise $6.5 million in matching funds for the project, which will total $18.8 million.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory and DOE’s Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program announced the selection of five additional states to each receive approximately $60,000 in funding per year for three years for activities supporting Wind Powering America's Wind for Schools project. These awards will provide universities, state institutions, and non-governmental organizations funding and technical support that will be used to develop educational programs to improve understanding of wind technology and its implementation using the Wind for Schools model. The university leads on the selected projects are Appalachian State University (NC), James Madison University (VA), Northern Arizona University, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Alaska.

The Associated Press has published an article on initiatives at some U.S. institutions to grow poinsettias more sustainably. Institutions mentioned include the University of New Hampshire, Purdue University (IN), North Carolina State University, and the University of Florida.

Clemson University (SC) researchers have received an $891,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the storage of carbon dioxide in underground geological formations. The researchers will focus on carbon dioxide dissolved in saltwater at high pressure and how to keep it away from underground drinking water. They will also work with a professor from Stanford University (CA).

The New York Times has posted a blog on the White House Youth Clean Energy Economic Forum, which several campus members were able to attend. The Forum was held to begin building a framework for a green economy. The University of California, Berkeley was mentioned in the post.

Temple University (PA) has established a new center focused on diversity. The Academic Center on Research in Diversity launched earlier this year to promote faculty and student research on diversity. The Center will also hosts forums about diversity and reach out to the local community.

A graduate student from the University of Idaho has won the national William T. Hornaday Conservation Award from the American Society of Mammalogists. Jan Schipper is currently pursuing his doctorate degree at the University and has done a significant amount of work to improve the protection of mammals. One initiative he has led is to assess the status of the world’s 5,500 mammal species by working with organizations around the world.

The 2009 Moskowitz Prize for Socially Responsible Investing has been awarded to a study on the complex relationship between corporate financial performance, corporate social performance, and social pressure. The winning paper, “The Economics and Politics of Corporate Social Performance” was written by David Baron of the Stanford University (CA) Graduate School of Business, Maretno Harjoto of Pepperdine University's (CA) Graziadio School of Business and Management, and Hoje Jo of Santa Clara University's (CA) Leavey School of Business.

Clemson University (SC) has received a $45 million grant from the Department of Energy and an additional $53 million in matching funds to build a wind turbine research facility. The facility will focus on developing large-scale turbines that can generate 5 to 15 megawatts, which currently do not exist in the US. The facility will be part of the Restoration Institute at the former U.S. naval base in Charleston.

Florida Gulf Coast University has partnered with the John D. Back Foundation to create the Florida Gulf Coast Innovation Hub, a 1.2 million-square-foot research and development area. FGCU plans to build a facility at the Innovation Hub to study renewable energy, solar energy, alternative energy sources, biotechnology, green technology and other programs. One of the primary goals of the initiative is to attract businesses and universities with an interest in renewable energy, and spur growth in green jobs.

Seattle City Light has chosen the University of Washington’s campus to test its smart-grid technology. The project will install energy monitoring equipment and other technology in two classrooms and two residential halls. The project will cost $9.6 million and is part of a national initiative from the Department of Energy to make the national energy grid more efficient.

University of Memphis (TN) professor Srikant Gir has been awarded a $500,000 grant to conduct research on biodiesel research and development. Dr. Gir is focusing on creating a smaller waste-into-fuel converter so that the process can be done in a more local way. He sees small businesses using it to convert vegetable oil and fallen leaves into energy.

The University of Nebraska, Lincoln has received a $1.5 million grant to conduct research exploring issues around organic agriculture. The grant is part of $19 million in funding awarded to universities across the country from the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative, which is designed to create local and regional food systems.

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The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education is a membership association of colleges & universities, businesses, and nonprofits who are working together to lead the sustainability transformation. Learn more about AASHE's mission.